ROLE MODEL FRIDAY: JOE OKEI-ODUMAKIN

Hey Guys, I missed you so much!  How has your week been? Glad to bring you another dose of Role Model Friday. Hopefully, this will continue till we run out of Role Models but I know we won’t *lol*. Today’s Role Model is a Nigerian (happy about that), an Activist who has dedicated half of her existence to fighting for Justice Integration in Nigeria. Who is this Human with a burning passion for change, its none other than Dr. Josephine Obiajulu Okei-Odumakin, popularly known as Joe Okei-Odumakin (drum roll please)

PIC SOURCE: HERE

Joe Okei-Odumakin was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, Northern part of Nigeria where she grew up more as a tom-boy than a girl that she is. She got her education in different states of Northern Nigeria where she got her first contact with political movements in 1985. Her curiosity and attitude began her romance with lives of Martin Luther King, Karl Max and Malcolm X. Fate smiled on her not quite long as she contested for the position of Secretary for Women in Nigeria, Kwara State branch in March 1985. Thirst for Justice derived off the lives of Martin Luther King, Karl Max and Malcom X kept on driving Joe Okei-Odumakin to what she saw as her calling  (LESSON ONE: INTEREST)

Being a friend to fellow activists like late Gani Fawehimi, late Beko Ransome Kuti, late Fela Anikulapo Kuti etc and her consistent acts of bravery, determination and courage made Joe a regular occupant in detentions as far as 17times especially during the military era. Child delivery didn’t deter her from attending the press conference held in late Pa. Abraham Adesanya’s office at Apapa as nobody knew she was pregnant let alone, putting to bed minutes earlier before the meeting (LESSON TWO: COURAGE)

With over 25years of standing firm in her beliefs for equality in the Nigerian society, 

Joe was at the fore-front of the Occupy Nigeria Protest in 2012. She has been showered with several awards over the years as she was recently honored with an International Woman of Courage Award, presented to her by Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States of America.

Joe believes activism isn’t an excuse to laze around or being jobless rather, it has helped her improve mentally as a human and a woman. She feels no discrimination as a modern Nigerian woman at the fore-front of Freedom and Justice. Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka describes Joe as a tireless fighter who remains an inspiration to both young and old.

Being a woman doesn’t stop us from doing what we love to do as there are women from different races, backgrounds, beliefs etc who have shown us that strength, courage, bravery, persistence pays off. So what are you doing today?

God bless Nigeria!

VIEW: NIGERIA WILL (NOT) GROW

Hey Guys, how are you? Hope May has brought in lots of goodies for you? In the past few weeks, I have been involved with a few projects and one of them is, being a Contributor for Ynaija 2015, a platform for political discourse and analysis. You can check the edited versions of articles written by me HERE and HERE while credits can be found HERE and HERE. I promise to put up the original versions sometime later. I must say, it is fulfilling yet exciting for me as I take my career as a Writer to the next level and also be part of a movement trying its best to make Nigeria a better place.

I know there are rules everywhere including the church but there are times where some things can actually be overlooked. Things like” I want to sit here, you can’t sit here which is common among ushers in church; Switch off phones please, No I can’t because I am expecting an urgent call” and the rest of them. An altercation occurred between me and an Usher or whatever he is, over charging of laptop issue. This issue raised dust on certain things which I will briefly talk about, on why Nigeria (will) not grow.

In a Nation filled with over 150million people categorized in several ethnic groups, Nigeria possesses certain beliefs that stagnate in my opinion, the growth of this country. As we argued back and forth over my ‘rights’ as a member of the church*lol*, a bunch of women who obviously were “gbeboruns” kept on saying I was at fault and that as a woman, you are not meant to argue with a man. Like seriously! Are we unconsciously saying that women have no rights to voice out their opinions? Am I as the female lower to my male counterpart? Are we saying that if the male and female gender is involved in an argument or a fight, a woman should automatically keep quiet without even listening to the two sides of the story? I don’t want to believe that there is still in our existence, some women who believe they have no right to talk or be heard.

Some people might add that the Bible says women should be submissive to men but may I let you know that the Bible says ’Wife be submissive to your Husband’ and there is absolutely nowhere did the Bible mention that women should be oppressed in any form. So why circumvent the Bible to fulfil thy selfish needs?

Another problem which I perceive won’t make Nigeria grow is the tradition of respect. Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer in respect but it’s bad to see that it has been abused in Nigeria. You hear of parents abusing their children, family members assaulting the younger ones in the name of respect. As the younger one who is at the receiving end, there’s nothing you can do as whatever you want to do will be frowned at by the society. 

This is what the pastor said in which I quickly corrected him on it. I hate it when you give me cock and bull story on why I should respect someone who fell off the respect ladder and chose not to be respected. To be or not to be respected is a choice, it’s your decision. Are you one of those people who maltreat others in the name of you being older than them? Respect is reciprocal people! Don’t forget that!

We have no right to insult the leadership when in our little way, still act and believe that we still live in the 15^th Century. If as a male you are threatened by the ‘packaging’ of a female, why don’t you buckle up to represent? In my Opinion, if you are guilty of all the offences listed up yet you open your mouth to insult the leadership of this country, you are a HYPOCRITE!

God bless Nigeria! xx

ROLE MODEL FRIDAY: ARIANNA HUFFINGTON

Yaaay! Welcome to May and another edition of RMF which is proudly brought to you by ME *smiles* with the sole purpose of you and I learning new things from humans who have gone ahead of us to make a difference. I hope you enjoyed the Margaret Thatcher post, if you missed it, check HERE. Anyways, today is all about another woman who is quietly doing what she knows in the Media, Leadership and Philanthropy departments. Don’t crack your brain too much as I present to you Arianna Huffington!

Arianna Huffington
PIC SOURCE: HERE

Have you ever heard of The Huffington Post? Do you know it is one of the most sought after online media outlets when it’s about breaking news on politics, current affairs, entertainment, finance and lots more but The Huffington Post can’ t be complete without a mention of the brain behind it, which is Arianna Huffington.

Arianna Huffington was born to middle-class parents in Athens, Greece. Moved to the UK at age 16 to study and started her leadership journey to became the first foreigner and third female President of Cambridge Union (Quite a feat if you asked me). She started writing books in the 70s and several articles and slowly rose to national prominence during her ex-husband’s unsuccessful senate bid. She launched herself deeply into politics by not just campaigning against Arnold Schwarzenegger for California governorship post but also by publicly stating her beliefs on leadership, true governance and party’s doctrines. She didn't just sit there as a politician’s wife but she affirmed herself to being her own person and everybody saw that in her * Ladies need to learn to be themselves, don’t over depend on the brother*

Arianna used her media ability to co-host a syndicated public program that offered both sides of every political issues to the listeners and gradually worked her way to be named #12 in the first-ever compiled list of Most Influential Women by Forbes and moved to #42 on the Top 100 in Media List compiled by The Guardian. She of course worked so hard, making mistakes and getting up to achieving something greater and better for herself.

Arianna allowed AOL to acquire The Huffington Post for $315million *faints* and still calls the shots as the President and Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, which includes The Huffington Post  and other then-existing properties of AOL such as Engadget, AOL Music, Patch Media and Style List. Like seriously, isn’t that a smart woman and Entrepreneur?

Arianna Huffington simply tells us that the sky is the starting point when we decide to follow our hearts and do what we know how to do best.

Simply stay with me till next week Friday as we share stories of successful people who have gone ahead of us. Hope you learnt something today as I did, takia!

MUSINGS: BAGA185- A STORY RETOLD

Sometime last week on my Timeline  still grieving with Boston, was the hash tag BAGA185 retweeted by the people I follow on Twitter, with respect to the fact that they are mostly concerned youths of Nigeria, who are doing every little thing in their might to make sure this country works. I was lost for a while to what that meant but that didn't last for too long as I caught a glimpse through angry comments made by irate young people who demanded an answer to the massacre. In case you are still lost at what I am saying, it is about the bloodshed caused by the duel between the Army and Boko Haram in Borno state, Nigeria last week.

Considered as probably the worst bloodbath recorded since terrorism aka Boko Haram dawned on us in Nigeria, the lives of at about 185 persons were snuffed out in one day all in the name of a gun battle to restore peace to the country. A midst the death of 185 were also vehicles, houses, motorcycles either burnt or vandalized during this duel.

The story of Baga185 awakened a feeling of anger, vomit, shock and disappointment as I wondered why all these could be wrong. Well, I shouldn't be surprised at our level of understanding and handling of things/ situations because I have out rightly said on several occasions on the urgent need of a mentality re-orientation in this Nation. Boston still fresh as well as the BAGA situation, an analysis has to made on why such situations yet similar is different.

More horrible as the Boston and Borno attacks were, Boston received wider, more publicized media coverage than Borno attack. I was in my home when I heard the shocking news of the bomb explosion that left at least 3 people dead and several others injured, the help of the media most especially #CNN made most people including myself follow the case. I knew who the suspects were, what they looked like, how they were urgently wanted, how one of them died, how the other accomplice was arrested, taken to the hospital and eventually now in prison, awaiting trial. Unlike #Baga, I had no idea what it was even though it happened in Nigeria and I was looking forward to hearing something about it in local news, I didn't because someone, someway, thinks the news would tarnish the already battered image of the country and seriously, who cares? If the foreign media acted in the same way as its Nigerian counterpart did, I am sure the suspects wouldn't have been caught. Nigeria needs to learn that it’s OK to need help, its OK for things to go bad, nobody is insulated against crises!

The second puzzling thing in the Borno tragedy is how come the number of the casualties is high? Is it that the inhabitants of the village were just going about their activities, only to realize a fight was going on? Like I just don’t understand? There’s no true story of what happened but even if Boko Haram attacked a patrol van attached to the military, how did it affect so much that it had to snuff out the lives of 185 persons? Boston was on a lock down throughout the incident and everyone was aware of what was happening, so why was it that difficult for the Baga situation?

The police in Boston engaged in a gun fight with the bomb suspects yet I didn't hear of any casualty involved. I should believe that the average American police is well trained and knows what to do when in face of danger. Watching the replay of the gun fight reminded me of what always happens in American movies only that, this one is reality. Are our security personnel trained? Do they understand that situation varies? Is it about getting the suspect without hurting others or getting the suspect with others injured? Why is our approach not working?

The height of the whole saga is the difference in the degree of warmth eschewed by the American government and her Nigerian government. Apart from being open with the world, President Obama left his ever busy and tight schedule to not only conduct a press conference acknowledging the situation but flying all the way from Capitol Hill to Boston, to grieve with his people but what did my own government do? They only cried that the figures presented to the public were false and they systematically reduced it from 185 to 25 to 5! So who is lying? The truth will prevail!

There’s only one thing left to learn in the Boston and Baga attacks which is, getting the help of the public! Dzokhar, the other suspect in the Boston attack, wouldn't have been caught if the person who found him didn't place that call. Forget it, he would have escaped or killed the owner and himself. There are a lot of tragedies that can be averted in this country only if it was sane enough to carry the public along but alas, it is not so. Someone even joked that the person who reported will be the first suspect in Nigerian Police book. So how is it going to be?

I couldn't help but express myself via this very long post, hoping that the message is heard. What do we do? How do we do? Why should we do? All these I ask myself as I hope everything will be fine.

Baga stays strong during this period, God bless Nigeria!

DIY: ANKARA BANGLES

Hey guys, how are you doing? * In Wendy Williams’ voice * totally excited about today’s post because it is about DIY today! DIY is something that when you engage yourself with, brings out the creative side of you. Your end-result is your creation which can never been found elsewhere, more like your representation. Enough of the sermon, let’s get straight to business.

The Ankara fabric is one fabric that is never out of trend or season in Africa. Any time you see the Ankara fabric anywhere, it screams Africa at you. Apart from the African heritage, the fabric exudes color which of course reminds you of vibrancy, strength and happiness.

So I decided to lift-up the face of a few bangles I bought some time ago, because I got so bored of wearing the same thing, I just wanted something that would lighten me up.  Again, you can count on me to show you how I got my end result even though I know there are so many tutorials online, I hope you get inspired to do your own thing.

Ankara Fabric

A pair of Scissors

Bangle

Non- Stitch Fabric Glue

Find an edge and glue both edge to each other,
putting all the edges into each other with a glue

Bangle is ready for sun-drying

Bangle is ready to ROCK!

Were the steps explainable enough? Do create yours and please let me know *smiles* I hope you come back for more DIYs, takia!

VIEW: PRINCIPLE OF THE BRIBERY PERCENTAGE

Hi Guys, how’re you doing? Hope you love the changes on the Blog? If there is anything you will like to see added on the interface that isn’t present right now, please do let me know. Your suggestions are highly welcome and thank you for coming back, to read all I write. I sincerely do hope that I inspire and make you feel better.

Flipping through the Old Testament of the Bible during my study last week, one will find so many stories documenting the tradition, beliefs and culture of the Israelites relating to God. For those who don’t know who the Israelites are, I will give a brief summary. The Israelites are people who originate from Israel while Israel is located in the Middle East of Earth’s geographical map.

As a Girl who is passionate about Nigeria, I want to show us how one of the laws that governed Israel during the BC era can still be relevant in Nigeria. Nigeria as we know is a country with dynamic human species that have the capability to grow but somehow, we are still struggling to show achievements in good governance and leadership. Anyways, let’s learn something as we move ahead.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, suppose one of you sins against your associate and is unfaithful to the Lord. Suppose  you cheat in a deal involving a security deposit, or you steal or commit fraud, or you find lost property and lie about it, or you lie while swearing to tell the truth, or you commit any other sin. If you have sinned in any of these ways, you are guilty. You must give back whatever you stole, or the money you took by extortion, or the security deposit, or the lost property you found, or anything obtained by swearing falsely. You must make restitution by paying the full price plus an additional 20 percent to the person you have” – Leviticus 6: 1- 5a

This above tells us there’s the possibility of stealing, extorting, committing fraud, lying to save your neck, taking other peoples’ stuff which include property or security deposit as all happens in the Nigeria of today on a daily basis. It is now a fad, more like a competition to see who stole more sophisticatedly and the amount involved for people most especially government officials, politicians, elected individuals and the likes. 

Nobody exudes the fear of getting caught and those who get caught, walk away free as a result of the judiciary’s incompetence as with the PENSION Boss’s case still fresh on our minds and if you are wondering what the story is about, I will tell you.

A Director in Nigeria’s Pension Fund Scheme, the agency in charge of keeping civil servants money till when retirement age comes knocking and then they pay them month by month, decided to embezzle the monies reserved for this purpose. Figures embezzled were put at 23million NGN after which the Judge, who presided over his case, sentenced him to 2years imprisonment with a fine option of 750,000 NGN. Of course, our director took the option fine. I would also add that Pension scheme is a common practice all over the world but why would an individual deem it fit to take what doesn’t belong to him in the name of wealth creation?

Now if we relate this actual event to the lines I quoted above, you will agree with me that the Nigerian Law permits stealing in every way. If the director, who pleaded guilty to an embezzlement of 23million NGN, was asked to pay back 23million NGN with an additional 20percent, that would make a total of 27.6million NGN by my calculations, then he wouldn’t have walked straight to the boot of his car to dole out the money.

Assuming this approach was used to address other high profile cases of corruption/ theft happening the country, trust me it would have hit an all-low index. It isn’t fair that while some people work hard, some people feel the easiest way is to reap where they have not sown. God was also very right when he passed that instruction to the Israelites because he knew that Man would be so evil in his heart.

All I am saying is that, we need to change some of our existing laws in order for them to tackle the menace caused by corruption in our society. The Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary have to work in unison to protect the lives of Nigerians. If the Legislature fails in their duties to provide good laws, there is no way the Judiciary can perform her functions excellently because they only implement the Laws given to them by the Legislature.

The Bribery Percentage isn’t a bad idea and I foresee it working wonders in restoring our battered image.

God bless Nigeria!

P.S: Please leave your comments below, it gets me encouraged to know you are reading. Thanks!

ROLE MODEL FRIDAY: THE MARGARET THATCHER EFFECT

Hallo everyone! Happy Friday and I hope April is going well as you planned, no stress at work, family, relationship, friendship, church (some church things does wear one out, don’t be surprised) and every other thing you cherish has been fine? Good to know all is well.

I decided to add a new addition for you my readers to make the Blog more spicy and more Inspirational. Every Friday, we will take a peep into the lives of people irrespective of color, race, location to learn a few things from them. These people are who I call Leaders in their respective fields and in have added value to the lives of human beings directly or indirectly all around the world. This sounds exciting, doesn't it?

Anyways, I just want you to join on this ride of knowledge as I present to you our very first Role Model in the person of Margaret Thatcher *drum roll*. Although she was laid to mother earth yesterday, there is nothing stopping us from talking about a Woman who paved the way for other Women and the Society at large...

Late Margaret Thatcher
PIC SOURCE: HERE

You see, Baroness Margaret Thatcher is just one unforgettable Amazon. Her name has been written in gold and the history of Britain isn't complete without her. As a 21st Century child while growing up, I understood at least 60% magnitude of what she had done and who she was. There was no way current affairs was complete in class without a mention of the first female prime minister in the world, so her name always rang a bell as a kid. Fast forward am in my twenties now, it just seem like yesterday, the tale of a Grocer’s Daughter who became a leading force in political history.

As a Woman first of all and then a Nigerian, there are so many lessons to learn from this sweet story of bravery, courage and victory. Margaret wasn't born with a silver spoon, her parents couldn't afford the luxury of life yet she braced up herself, pushed herself to become a force. This is the typical Nigerian story most especially for you and I. Everything is almost so messed up that we have given up but I just want to remind us not to give up (LESSON 1)

Margaret inherited a bad economy from whoever was in charge; she knew the system was in shambles before signalling her interest to rule lead her people, she knew the job was going to be hectic, difficult and tiring before reading the oath that swore her into office yet she didn't get to that ‘exalted’ position to start giving excuses stories of how and why some people cabals are untouchable. She didn't tell her people that some things can’t or won’t just work; Margaret didn't do all of that. She was a 20th century leader, not just a leader but a woman at that who did what she had to because she was DETERMINED, STRONG-WILLED, PERSISTENT, STUBBORN yet humble and PRODUCED RESULTS (PLEASE CHECK HISTORY IF YOU DOUBT.) What is heart-breaking in my Nigerian reality is that, these attributes can only be found in my text-books. (LESSON 2)

Margaret was a go-getter, she knew what she wanted.  It is said that every woman has this quality but what do we use it for? Do we use it to seduce the Men to get money from them? Don’t get me wrong on this one, I know there are wonderful women out there but according to my statistics/ research, the number is so few compared to the majority. Hope you also know she sacrificed her family life to lead her people, not that I advocate we all do the same because I am so looking forward to building a family and spending quality time with them but you will all agree with me that her sacrifice was worth it. So are we go-getters? (LESSON 3)

She believed that people should have an entrepreneurial skill which is something on the average we all run from. She stopped all forms of welfare because we are wired to depend on people for our daily living. She was mean but her conservative principles paid off for Britain. Did I also forget to add that she led Britain in the Falklands War and won! She was oozed leadership!

I know some people reading this will disagree with me, going as far as saying Britain’s system of government is different from ours but one quick question is, is it not the same one leader and plenty followers kind of pattern we practice with the rest of the world? As the most populous black nation in the world, what would we say in the areas of leadership, accountability, responsibility and integrity? They could even add that her policies were harsh but didn’t it work? She knew the people she was dealing with and she is quoted as helping to change the mindset/ mentality of the English people towards certain policies that have helped them till date (LESSON FOUR)

Margaret Thatcher paved the way for 21st Century women like Hilary Clinton, Joe Okei-Odumakin, Toyosi Akerele, Park Geun-hye of South Korea and so many countless women like you and I to be who we want to be. Margaret came, saw and conquered. We have no excuse not to do the right thing and I pray God help us.

RIP Margaret Thatcher, a Hero has gone to rest!